Glen Brittle forest walk

Well this is the last walk of the week as we are now heading home.  We have woken to a beautiful day here which is just fantastic as we have a 10 mile walk ahead of us.

Glen Brittle lies at the foot of the Cuillin mountains and it was here we parked at a very busy car park.

Thankfully the other tourists were taking a lower path to visit the Fairy Pools but we were heading up onto the forest track to take the circuit that would take in the views of the Cuillin ridge, Loch Eynort and Loch Brittle, the former being a sea loch.  The sea was a beautiful shade of blue/green and the surrounding area was really shown at its best in the sunshine.  Dragonflies, butterflies and damsel flies were in abundance. Thankfully there were very few midges but we were bothered a bit by flies at some points.

The walk was well waymarked and had several picnic benches and we chose to sit for 5 minutes while we had some refreshment.

The terrain underfoot was quite stony in parts and we were all feeling it in our feet at the end.  Ivor had a good time off lead for the whole walk but we noticed a slight limp in him at the end (later on we noticed that one of his pads was a bit cracked which would have been down to the stony/rough ground).

As we were nearing the end of the walk the sharp teeth of the Cullin ridge came into view again - these hills are positively scary, grassy looking to their mid-way point and then rock/scree to the top.

Back to the car and we headed home, deciding to drive straight home in the end.  We arrived home around 3.30pm having really enjoyed our week away and feeling refreshed (though not sure how long that will last!).

Quiraing

Although it was dry it remained quite windy (though not as bad as the last couple of days).  Quiraing wasn't something we had planned to do but it came recommended so we decided to head back to the Trotternish area and take in the spectacular views which were promised.  The rock formations here were created by a huge landslip millions of years ago where rock seperated from rock, slid down the landscape while remaining mostly upright.  It has left unusally shaped rock formations, some which appear as sunken ships!

This was another busy destination despite us getting there reasonably early.  From the start it was a steep grassy path; most people took the other path so we found ourselves the only ones going up.  Ivor pulled Blair up the whole way (340m)!  It was cold and windy on top and remained pretty exposed until we started the descent.

The views were good from the top - looking down the cliff edges to the tiny ant sized people walking the paths below and over to the sea and Staffin Bay.  The landscape had a prehistoric feel to it and you could imagine the dinosaurs that would have roamed these lands millions of years ago.

The descent was stony and slippy in parts.  Blair slipped on his backside twice (probably not helped with Ivor pulling the whole time) but luckily my dignity remained intact despite a few near misses.

Although reasonably short in distance (4.5 miles) it was a tiring walk and we were glad to eventually reach the car.

We drove the few miles on to Staffin and to Columbus 1400 (a social enterprise cafe whose proceeds go to helping disengaged young people).  We had a nice lunch and treated ourselves to a cream tea - lovely!

On from there we visited Uig and went to the pottery and the brewery where we bought a few Skye beers. It was quite a full day and we arrived back home around 4pm to freshen up ahead of going out for dinner to the Loch Bay restaurant.

Oronsay Island and the Two Churches Dunvegan walk

It's been blowing a hooley here for the past 24hrs and we've woken to another blustery day.  The wind is keeping the rain at bay (mostly) and the midges aren't getting a look in - there is always a bright side!

Our first walk today is out to Oronsay Island, a tidal coastal island, home to sheep and nothing else.  This is a short walk (3 miles) but with lovely views all around including Macleods Maidens which we had visited earlier in the week.  There was another Island (Tarner Island) that didn't appear to have any livestock but no way of getting over to it and it had quite steep rocky slopes.

We walked the circuit, not getting too close to the steep edges for fear the wind might blow us off.  Back down to the beach and we went looking for some rock pools but saw nothing other than the carcasses of small crabs.

Back on the road we stopped in at the Old Byre tea room and had a lovely coffee and some cake before heading on to Dunvegan and to our second walk.

We parked up at the church on the outskirts of Dunvegan.  The noticeboard suggested the we could see Sea Eagles, Golden Eagles, Buzzards and Sparrowhawk but this wasn't to be.  Thankfully the start of this walk was in woodland so Ivor was finally able to stretch his legs off the lead, which he made the most of before we reached the moorland and started the walk over to the standing stone with views over to Macleods Tables.

Below the stone was old St Marys Church which dates to before the reformation and there we read a tablet telling us that many of the kin who were pipers to the clan Macleod are interned here - showing a great respect for the pipers of the time.  Another short walk at 2 miles.

Run from Katies Cottage

We decided on a 'lazy' day.  The weather was pretty wild and we thought we would be 'radical' and stay at home.  Before we did that though we had the simple task of walking Ivor and getting a bit of fresh air ourselves.  Blair had already been out running a couple of times and I was getting hacked off so we decided on a run out to Meanish Pier which we could do as a circuit from the house.

I wasn't too sure how I would manage, the roads being quite steep in parts but on we went anyway.  We stopped at the pier for a look around but there was nothing much to see (and no photos as we had forgotten our phones).

The climb away from the pier was pretty steep and involved a short stop at the top for a bit of a breather. The wind was keeping me cool and we managed to have wind in our faces throughout the walk. Thankfully I didn't feel that it was holding me back and I managed the run home, running a total of 6.85 miles in 1hr and 13 minutes. My longest run yet!

Back at the cottage and after freshening up we headed to the Red Roof Cafe for our second visit.  This time we were having lunch.  Blair chose the Gamekeepers Platter (with venison, pheasant pate and venison chorizo) and I chose the Gardeners Salad (salad of the day which was a bulgur), red pepper pate and hummus.  Both served with homemade bread, oatcakes and saurkraut and not to mention the wonderful locally grown salad leaves - these were just amazing and the mustard leaf was exceptionally hot!  Following the salad we had a lovely coffee and cake - cardomon, white chocolate and coconut for me and toffee cake for Blair.

We had hoped to have a BBQ tonight but the weather wasn't playing ball.  It was dry and the sun was peaking through but the wind was just too much and was cooling the air quite a bit.  Instead we had our caramelised red onion pork sausages from a frying pan (my first pork sausages in years!).

Old Man of Storr

We awoke to a lovely sunny day which promised to remain sunny so we headed off to the Trotternish area to take on what we planned to be three walks.  The first was the Old Man of Storr.  Storr is the highest point on the Trotternish peninsula ar 2358ft/719m and is a collection of dramatic basalt pyramids, pillars and shards, with the Old Man arguably the most impressive.

The parking area was packed out, clearly this was a tourist mecca and we were just about to join the masses.  I normally prefer walks out of the way of others as I walk to enjoy the peace and quiet but we just had to do this walk.

It was a well made path all the way to the Old Man, the views were amazing on this clear day if not marred a wee bit by the deforestation around it.

Apparently many of these rock formations were created from landslips millions of years ago which left rock standing at angles.  The walk (which we hope to do on Friday) - Quiraing - is very much like that.

2.5miles/1hr 30 mins

Leaving Storr just a couple of minutes behind us we parked up for our second walk - to Bearreraig Bay.  A short walk that promised dramatic cliffs (tick), waterfalls (mmm, didn't notice any), a pebble beach (tick, if you could call massive stones peebles), fossils (didn't see any of those, but didn't go looking - I can imagine it though!), a power station (yep) and a railway (tick, and not only that we saw it in operation!).

We parked up at the entrance of a private road.  We had forgotten to take our instructions for this walk and didn't realise that there was a parking area about half a mile down this road.  Anyway, we didn't mind.  The sun was still shining, we'd left the tourists behind and we were enjoying the peace again with the calming waters of Loch Leathan on our right.

I would guess at just over a mile later we arrived at the power station and saw men working at it.  There was also a private house - we commented on it having a lovely position except for the hum of the station.

The walk 'stopped' at a couple of information boards and from here we saw the cliffs and the Sound of Raasay.  I actually didn't spot the tiny stone path that would take us steeply down to the bay itself.  As we descended we saw the railway, which was used to transport workers and equipment to and from the power station on the bay and the station at the top of the hill.  As I was half way down, and taking it very easy, we heard the cranking of the railway as a carriage was slowly making its way down the slope.  At the other side of the railway there were steps, which were previously used for tourists like us but were closed due to health and safety grounds as the railway carriage over-hangs the tracks.  I have to say though, that those steps looked a lot healthier and safer than the stony steps we were taking and no way would you want to come down here if it had been raining!

At the bottom were massive rocky boulders and yes, there was a pebble beach but we couldn't really get access to it because of the water.  We hung about for a while, Ivor ate something (which I think was some driftwood which he found appetising, probably due to the seaweed/fishy taste!).  The walk back up was much easier and we headed back to the car before deciding to head to Portree, get a takeway coffee and then back to the cottage to freshen up for dinner later at The Three Chimneys.

1.5 miles/1hr 15 mins

The Three Chimneys
We booked this back in February and due to its reputation we were looking forward to it.  We opted for the dinner menu (as opposed to the taster menu).  The apperitifes were lovely and we decided to spoil ourselves a bit and have an extra course of tempura oysters.  For starters we had smoked haddock terrine (me) and rabbit (Blair), mains; cod with iron age pork (me) and beef head to tail (Blair); dessert was gorse flower brulee (me - and it was yum!) and marmalade pudding and drambuie custard (Blair).  The food was good but it didn't blow me away (though it did blow a few mothballs out of my purse).

MacLeods Maidens

We decided to go on our first Skye walk nice and early to make the most of the morning sunshine on the basis that it was due to rain later.  We landed on walking out to the MacLeods Maidens - a set of three sea stacks so called after the historical Lairds wife and two daughters who drowned in the waters there.

The walk started at Orbost farm and we followed a good track and path with lovely wide views across the bay to the Cuillin ridge.  We were able to let Ivor off the lead at this point.  We passed through various gates and eventually reached Rebel Wood (where native trees were planted in memory of Joe Strummer, lead singer of The Clash).  We're not sure what has been planted and when but there was very little evidence of anything other than bracken!

The paths in some sections were stoney and narrow but largely good and we eventually reached the Maidens after about 2 hours.  The weather was remaining good and warm and we stopped at the cliff edge, looking down onto the Maidens to enjoy an apple - or at least tried too!  The midges were in full throttle and we lasted less than a minute.... all this way to stay for one minute!

The return was by the same route and on our way back we met our first fellow walker and then further on two hardy mountain bikers and then a couple - one of whom was wearing wellies!  Good luck to him!

By this time all three of us were getting tired.  The path was quite punishing on the feet and my gammy knee was starting to pinch.  We also picked about half a dozen ticks off Ivor.

After a shower and some lunch we headed 100 yards down to the road to the Red Roof Cafe.  This wee bothy has a really good reputation and I couldn't believe it when I saw it next door to us on arrival.  It was really busy but we managed to get a table within five minutes and enjoyed some coffee and cake.  No doubt this wee place will be taking a bit more of our money before the week is up!

10 miles/3hrs 45 mins

Duncraig Castle from Plockton

Our Skye holiday started with a walk en-route.  We parked in Plockton, a village we had never visited before, treated ourselves to an ice cream and started our walk.  Walk Highlands said that this is 'one of the most picturesque footpaths you'll find anywhere' so they had built it up a bit for us.  Yes, it was a nice path but I wouldn't say it was one of the most picturesque.

The railway line ran parallel with the path and it would have been good to have a train run along side us. Eventually the path brought us out at Duncraig Castle which was in a state of renovation. We passed along the front of the building to head back to join the path. It wasn't a particularly eventful walk.  Ivor met three dogs who weren't particularly friendly.  Once back in Plockton we went to the Plockton Inn for some lunch before then carrying on our journey to Glendale and to Katies Cottage.

We arrived at Katies Cottage around 3.30pm.  This is a former wee but n ben which has been modernised and insulated and when we walked in the warmth just hit us.  We have lovely views over hills and small houses with sheep wandering around on the road outside.  We chose a house that had a secure garden so thankfully Ivor (or should I say the sheep) are safe!

3.75 miles/1hr 15 mins

Fannich Estate hills

We've enjoyed such lovely weather this past week, going out running nearly every day! One of our favourite walks with Ivor is the Fannich Estate just a few miles down the road from us. It's a secure estate with a good road, Caledonian pines and lots of deer and hares for Ivor to chase! On this walk in the past (usually a four mile circuit round the road and forest track) we've admired the craggy peaks off to the North of the main estate road (Meallan Buidhe at 437m and Carne na Beiste at 518m) and had regularly talked about venturing up the sibling hills one day. Well, with the sun shining we headed off to give it a go.

As soon as we passed the cattle grid and deer-gated section to the estate, Ivor is off on his adventures scouring for something to chase. We make our way onto the smaller hill and Ivor is off like a shot, no where to be seen for a good five minutes and we think he's somehow made his way back through the fence. Just as Blair starts heading back down the hill to find him, the wee blighter decided to comes running back up! The hill itself is grassy and heathery and thankfully dry underfoot following a couple of weeks of lovely weather; I would expect that it would be quite boggy otherwise. Climbing up we looked back for the view of Loch Luichart in hazy sunshine.

We carry on up to the top of our first hill, Meallan a' Mhuthaidh Beag, and the views are just lovely. We regularly marvel at the wonderful place we live in - on days like this there is no place better! We undulate over the hill towards the second peak and then we get Loch Fannich in full splendour.

Carrying on our walk, Ivor spots a hare and literally hares off after it yelping and squealing as he goes. He is no match for the hare though and he comes back five minutes later exhausted. At the top of the second peak Ivor bounds off again, this time we are assuming it is deer again and he doesn't make his way back to us until we are nearly at the bottom of the hill.

The way down was a bit lumpy and steep in parts with some boggy sections but overall not bad and my feet weren't too wet for the 3 mile run back to the gate and to the car.


Overall we ran/walked 7 miles with height climbed 1,750ft. Not big hills but that wasn't what we were after - the views over the Fannich hills were and we weren't disappointed. We reckon with Ivor bounding off a total of four times he must have covered double the distance we did and he spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping in the sun at home.